Being really good at melee damage kind of defeats the purpose of a Ranger IMO. To me though these damage comparisons with a Ranger are kind of useless, because if I want high damage I am going with another class all together.
I like the new Ranger in play so far (I am playing a multiclassed max wisdom, 13 Charisma, 16 Dex Fey Wanderer with Thrown Weapon Fighting Style). My chief complaint is how much they dumped into Hunter's Mark, but it really doesn't hurt the class, just kind of tries to drive you in a direction I am not really trying to go and which the class doesn't really excel at. When you are out of spell slots though, having some free hunters marks lying around doesn't hurt.
Finally, I don't know what assumptions you are using for Hunter's Mark, but in play there is going to be a big conflict between using your beast and using Hunter's Mark. It sounds good to say cast Hunter's Mark first round and then have your beast attack every round after that. But in play losing concentration or having the marked enemy die are going to force you to recast it, move it, or give up the extra damage pretty often. In actual play if you are using Hunter's Mark in melee that is typically using at least half of your bonus actions, less in some fights, more in others but generally over half.
I like the new Ranger in play so far (I am playing a multiclassed max wisdom, 13 Charisma, 16 Dex Fey Wanderer with Thrown Weapon Fighting Style). My chief complaint is how much they dumped into Hunter's Mark, but it really doesn't hurt the class, just kind of tries to drive you in a direction I am not really trying to go and which the class doesn't really excel at. When you are out of spell slots though, having some free hunters marks lying around doesn't hurt.
Finally, I don't know what assumptions you are using for Hunter's Mark, but in play there is going to be a big conflict between using your beast and using Hunter's Mark. It sounds good to say cast Hunter's Mark first round and then have your beast attack every round after that. But in play losing concentration or having the marked enemy die are going to force you to recast it, move it, or give up the extra damage pretty often. In actual play if you are using Hunter's Mark in melee that is typically using at least half of your bonus actions, less in some fights, more in others but generally over half.
